- Nissan Leaf house owners are getting a brand new, higher-power, bidirectional charger choice
- Utilizing the FE-20 bidirectional charger will not void the Leaf’s guarantee
- Nissan did not say how a lot the FE-20 bidirectional charger prices
Nissan has permitted an up to date bidirectional charger to be used with its Leaf EV, giving house owners another choice for utilizing their vehicles as cell vitality sources.
Nissan Leaf fashions have had the {hardware} for bidirectional charging since 2013, the automaker famous whereas saying approval of the brand new charger, the 20-kw Fermata Power FE-20. However Nissan did not formally allow or endorse use of the function within the U.S. till 2022, when it permitted use of the Fermata FE-15 charger. Like that 15-kw charger, the FE-20 can be utilized with out voiding a Leaf’s guarantee.
2025 Nissan Leaf
The FE-20 boasts some enhancements over the FE-15, together with 33% extra energy, an up to date design that lowers manufacturing prices, and a decrease retail worth, based on Nissan, though the automaker didn’t quote a particular worth.
Nissan additionally guarantees a better capacity to maneuver vitality backwards and forwards between the automotive and the grid than the FE-15 which, in a proof-of-concept check on the automaker’s Franklin, Tennessee, U.S. headquarters helped cut back electrical energy payments by $9,450 over 4 years. Fermata Power’s personal software program administration device will help house owners obtain these financial savings by drawing energy from a automotive’s battery pack to assist energy buildings throughout high-demand, high-cost intervals.
2025 Nissan Leaf
Different firms, reminiscent of Wallbox, market bidirectional chargers that might let owners use EVs as backup energy sources, however that depends on approval from automakers like Nissan. As with the FE-15, the the FE-20 charger was permitted to be used with the Leaf after it was confirmed to satisfy Nissan’s personal necessities and acquired UL 1741 certification.
Nissan hasn’t up to date the Leaf in a number of years, that means it is now the one EV nonetheless utilizing the CHAdeMO fast-charging customary. It additionally not qualifies for a federal EV tax credit score, but it surely’s nonetheless cheaper than the Nissan Versa financial system automotive, in some situations at the very least. Bidirectional charging gives another excuse to contemplate the aged hatchback past a doubtlessly low buy worth.
